


Darkness Isn't Always A Choice

by LilliLove



Series: Black Phoenix [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:27:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23390167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliLove/pseuds/LilliLove
Summary: The name of the island I got stranded on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for "purgatory". I was stranded there 5 years ago. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal. Survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the girl who was shipwrecked but the woman forged of Red and steel. My name is Liliana Parker-Bennett.
Relationships: Leonard Snart/Original Female Character(s), Oliver Queen/Original Female Character(s), Sara Lance/Oliver Queen, Sara Lance/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Black Phoenix [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682428
Kudos: 4





	1. Promise You'll Come Back

**Author's Note:**

> \--  
> The first installment of the Parker-Bennett family. Featuring the amazing Black Widow as our Black Phoenix. This story revolves around the Arrow Flashbacks and the first season of The Flash and Liliana's story.
> 
> Once another of the Parker-Bennett family 'appears', I'll start that series as well, so they are being done at the same time and you can read either-or and still get the idea until they split off into their own stories.
> 
> Warnings: Will be posted on each chapter with a trigger. Not all triggers will be important to the story, but the ones that are will have a * next to it. Mainly focuses on Depression, Suicide, a VAGUE rape reference, PTSD, abuse - Child and Adult. Let me know your thoughts!

**I own the Parker-Bennett's, their story, and nothing else**

**5 Years Ago**

“Sammy!” Liliana yelled upstairs to her sister. She heard a faint reply before thumping of feet was heard running down the steps. “I’m going out to the docks. I promise that I won’t be gone more than three weeks and I’ll bring back something from China.”

Samantha, Liliana’s younger sister, held back tears that threatened to spill. She bent over from the third step and wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders. “Just promise that you’ll be safe, and you’ll come back with loads of gifts.”

“Only as many gifts as my arms can hold, little ladybug.” Lily smiled into her sister’s shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you more.” Sam said, “But you have to go, hurry!” She shooed Lily away and they waved to each other before Lily shut the door behind her on her way out.

Lily’s driver took her to the docks to meet Robert Queen at the Queen’s Gambit.

She walked up just as Robert was saying goodbye to his wife, Moira. “Why can't you just fly to China?” Moira asked.

“That’s my fault.” Lily said, announcing her presence to the couple. “I have a terrible time flying.” 

Moira hugged Lily and looked at her adoringly, “You’re lucky I like you because I hate that stupid boat.”

“I’m lucky you like me too, or I wouldn’t have the chance to make this deal in China.” She laughed, “I’m gonna put my stuff on the boat.” 

She left them to their ‘I love you’ conversation before seeing Oliver make his way down the dock. _I wasn’t expecting Oliver to be coming along._

Lily emerged from the boat just as Moira agreed to let Oliver join them. Laurel was making her way down the dock as well, which made Oliver leave his parents to greet her. 

Robert passed Lily, giving her a smile before entering the boat. She stopped at Moira, who was watching Oliver and Laurel. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Lily said, causing Moira to look at her. “Both of them.” She smirked.

“You are too good to me.” Moira said, laughing at her antics. 

“Hurry up!” Oliver called out, running next to Lily and his mother quickly, smacking Lily on the back of the head before running up the stairs to the boat. She saw a bobble of blonde before they disappeared into the boat.

“Was that…?” Lily started.

“You have your work cut out for you.” Moira said, shaking her head slightly. “Go on, don’t let them leave without you.” 

She waved to Moira before boarding the boat. They set off a minute later and Moira waved to them as they left, none of them knowing the fate of each passenger on that boat.

~~

**Present Day**

“Natalia!” A male voice called to Lily as she stares at her fighters training in the yard.

“Yes?” She answered, turning to her leader.

“Alexi has contacted us from the states.” Anatoly told her, gaining her full attention from the yard. “He says he is having issues with one of ours. A captain.”

“I wasn’t aware we had a captain in Starling City.”

“We don’t, not one that I have assigned anyways. I have a hunch that an old friend of ours is using his status to get information he cannot gain otherwise.”

“Oliver.”

“Yes.”

She smirked before turning back to the yard. A few men have fallen in their fight. She calls to them, “Get up! Fight back or die trying. No lying around!” 

Anatoly chuckles at her, “You are much different than you were back on that ship.”

“Your country has changed me.” She says honestly.

“Is that why you stay here instead of going home?” 

“I stay because this is my place now.”

“Silly. Your place will always be with your family. Go back to them.”

“I wish to stay.” Her answer was defiant. Thought he was going to have none of it.

“Then I will give you no choice. You have the option to return to Starling City and speak with Alexi about his worries, and then continue your time in the states. Or,” He sighed, “I will have to have you executed on sight if you set foot in Russia again.”

Her eyes widened only a fraction, something that the normal person would not have noticed. “You would have me executed?”

“Yes. Now pack, bring two of your fighters with you if you please, and say goodbye to the rest. You leave tomorrow morning.”

He was almost out the door when he heard her speak again, “Thank you.”

“Of course, my dear.” He said, leaving the room.

Less than twenty-four hours later, Lily landed just outside of Starling City with only one of her fighters by her side.

“I want you to stand guard of the garage while I speak with Alexi.” She ordered. He nodded in acknowledgement and followed directions, knowing that the punishment would be less than desirable if he didn’t follow her orders.

Knowing that she didn’t need to worry about unwanted guests, she entered the garage and was greeted with respectful hostility from Alexi himself.

“Who would have thought that the Pakhan would let his right hand leave his side for a worthless trip to the states.”

“According to you, my trip here is not worthless.” She spoke with no emotion, not giving in to his irritating façade of power. “We were informed that a captain was here and asking you of things, without giving anything in return. You know better than most, that we do not run that way.”

“That is true.” He replied, understanding that she was sent here to punish, not cause trouble for him. “I know not his name, however.”

“Do not worry. We know his name, his face, and his residence. I am only here to warn you to let this matter go and return to your work, or there will be consequences. This captain is no longer your concern, and he will not be knocking on your door again if he knows what is best for him.”

She nodded once and walked out, beckoning her man to follow. He was almost like a dog, and she wanted nothing more than to kick him to the curb. But that would have to wait until the time was right.

Lily knew Oliver, probably better than most of the people in Starling did, because they had no idea what happened on that island. She at least spent a few years with him before ending up on a Russian shore.


	2. Wishing For Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The name of the island I got stranded on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for "purgatory". I was stranded there 5 years ago. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal. Survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the girl who was shipwrecked but the woman forged of Red and steel. My name is Liliana Parker-Bennett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Language and Mentions of Sex

**5 Years Ago**

Liliana had just left the ship’s main control room, hoping to make it to Oliver before Robert did, and saw his stowaway.

Of course, she never had such luck. Robert was already talking to Oliver in the hall when Sara opened the door half-naked.

“Ollie? Where do you keep the bottle opener on this thing?”

“I'll be there in a minute, Sara.” Oliver says, looking back at her.

After she leaves, Robert says, “You know, son, that is not going to finish well for either of them or for you.”

Lily snorted, “Yea, Ollie.” She says in her best ‘Sara’ voice, “Laurel is going to kill you.” 

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Oliver rolls his eyes, heading back to his cabin.

Robert sighs and looks to her, “Please, talk to him.”

He walks away and she huffs to herself. _Since when did I become the Queen family therapist?_

She lightly knocks on the door, hoping that she isn’t interrupting them in the act. Oliver opens the door while Sara talks on the phone.

“Yeah, Dad, college is great. No, me and my new roommate totally hit it off. We're like besties. Ok. Yeah, dad, I got to get back to chem lab. Yes. It looks like I got a long night ahead of me.” Sara laughs at her inside joke while Oliver pesters her to get off the phone. “Love you, Dad. Bye.”

“Ollie. You are trouble.” Sara says, Lily rolling her eyes as how little Sara pays attention to the fact that she is also standing in the room.

Lily was only two years older than her, but sometimes she thought Sara could act like a high schooler instead of a college student.

“You mean he is IN trouble.” Lily says, gaining her attention. “Laurel is going to be pissed when she finds out.”

“She’s only going to find out if you tell her.” Sara says, smirking.

“How is Detective Lance?” Oliver asks, trying to tame the cat fight before it begins.

“Ah, he's clueless, as usual.” She takes the flute from Oliver and drinks it all. “Guess I was thirsty.” She hands the glass back to him, but he hands it off to Lily. She rolls her eyes again and hates herself for being best friends with the Queens. Oliver really knew how to make her angry.

She fills multiple glasses, definitely going to steal one for herself, and hands two to Oliver when lightning strikes at a distance.

“Did you hear that? 1, 2, 3... It's getting closer.” Sara says, perking up a little to listen to the storm.

“That's not very scientific.” Oliver replies, handing another flute to her.

“And what would you know about science, Mr. Ivy league drop out?”

“I happen to know a lot about science. I know... Fermentation. I know...Biology.” Lily gagged, making them aware that she was still in the room.

“Gross, please don’t fuck while I’m still here.”

“Mmm. Laurel's going to kill me. She's so going to kill me.” Sara said, thinking about what Lily said earlier. 

“Your sister will never know.” Thunder fills the room again and it begins to freak Sara out. 

Lily had just put her phone back in her pocket after sending a quick text to Sammy back home about their current situation, when the boat begins to groan.

All three of them look towards the door just as the boat tips. All of them are thrown back into the wall and the door rips apart and water begins to fill the cabin. Oliver is standing up with the help of a couch, Lily is trying to stand against the table on wheels and it just keeps rolling around, and Sara is lying on the floor with a head injury.

Not even a moment later, Sara calls out to Oliver before she is screaming and being taken away by the water. “Sara!” Both Oliver and Lily call out. The wheels on the table are swept away with the current as well and Lily falls into the ocean after her, leaving Oliver to be sunk in the cabin room.

It feels like hours later when Lily’s head emerges from the water, coughing and trying to breathe. She hears both Sara and Oliver screaming for the other, but she can tell that they can’t hear each other.

She’s torn between who she should swim to when another wave washes over her and she is plunged into the water again. When she resurfaces, the only thing around her is water. No boat, no Sara, No Oliver. She is completely alone.

Lily is stuck until the storm subsides and once it does, she lies on her back and floats until she can keep calm and figure out which way she needs to swim. What felt like days later, which very well could have been for all she knew, she heard something.

Boats.

Glancing around as best as she could with as little energy she had, she glanced up and saw a group of men on the shore of an island. One man noticed her and within minutes she was pulled from the ocean.

She was set up with a blanket and some food, before a man walked in with another soldier behind him. The man had a big nose and scruffy hair but well suited, while the soldier had a mask on, half black and the other orange. 

The soldier stood behind the man while he sat in front of her. “Hello.” He said. “Do you have a name?”

Definitely not wanting to give her real name is him, she made one up, “Natalia.”

“Well, Natalia, my name is Edward Fyers and I have a mission for you.” She scrunched her nose as him. What could he possibly want her to do? “First, I want you to get some rest, because after that, you’re going to wish I had killed you instead.”

And with that, he was gone, and she really did wish she was dead.

\--

**Present Day**

After doing some research, it didn’t take Lily long to figure out that Oliver Queen was the hooded vigilante. She had a hunch that Sara had managed to come back from the dead and begin her life of vigilantism as the black leathered lady, but there was no telling if that was the case until she put a face to the woman.

Which was relatively easy after she entered Verdant. Looking towards the bar, she saw Sara behind the counter, while Laurel sat across from her. It made Lily wish that her sister was here, but she had looked her up before hand and saw that she had moved back to Central City a few weeks ago.

Lily didn’t know why it took her so long to leave Starling City, and what her motivation was to move now. That was something she may never know. Reconnecting with her old life was not something Lily had planned on ever doing.

Seeing Sara again had been a slap to the face, so she left the building in an attempt to draw Oliver out of the club instead of going in.

One of her many talents had been robbery. Mostly pretentious art and precious jewels, so robbing a bank was more likely to get her ‘caught’. Making her way to the closest bank, she did her best to create a terrible break-in to set off the alarms.

Within five minutes, Oliver had shown up in his suit. Looking around the bank, he saw no one so he made his way to the roof. Lily was covered in her own suit. A face mask that covered her nose and mouth, hair braided and laying over her shoulder, and black pleather and Kevlar covered her body.

Her weapons were hung around her body and obvious to the untrained eye. Dual pistols on both thighs, a katana behind her back, two pieces of one staff on each of her forearms, more guns handing on the back of her waist, and multiple knives stored in twelve different places.

Oliver held his bow and arrow up and knocked it. “Who are you?” She tilted her head in a mocking way, not saying anything. He aimed his arrow at her head, “I asked you a question.”

“Anatoly sent me. He’s asking that you refrain from using the Bratva for personal agendas without returning the favor.”

Her voice was masked but he could have sworn there was a hint of resemblance to her voice that he couldn’t place.

“How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“Birdies never lie.”

He put his bow down, eyeing her, “You’re Anatoly’s Phoenix?”

“The only.” She walked closer to him, “Now, do as Anatoly wishes before I take matters into my own hands.” Her face was close to his and he thought he was imagining things. 

Her blue eyes were ones he used to spend hours looking into when he would whine about all the trouble he got into. The ones he looked for in the crowd at his parties where all he could think about was gossiping to her about the woman he was going to take home that night. The perfectly speckled-yellow blue eyes that he looked into before making love on the island before boarding the Amazo to never see her again.

“Liliana.”

Within a second, Oliver was turned around with his arm behind his back, a swift kick to his spine and he was falling down to the pavement below. He caught himself before a hard landing and quickly got back to the roof. She was gone.


	3. I'll See You Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The name of the island I got stranded on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for "purgatory". I was stranded there 5 years ago. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal. Survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the girl who was shipwrecked but the woman forged of Red and steel. My name is Liliana Parker-Bennett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight Violence

**5 Years Ago**

Fyers entered the tent again, with his soldier still following him. In his hands, he had a suit ready for her to put on. “These are your new clothes. Put them on and my friend here will bring you to the yard after to begin your training.”

“Training?”

“Yes. You are going to be Mr. Wintergreen’s new partner. However, you can’t be his partner if you can’t hold your own. You fight back or you die trying.” Then he was gone.

Lily eyeballed the soldier as he stood like a statue. “Are you just going to watch me change or…?” He didn’t make a sound or attempt to move so she put the suit down and faced away from him, towards the desk her things were sitting on.

Her lungs felt like fire as her body smacked against the desk. Her hair was held in his hand as he slammed her head abruptly on the wood. He held her down as he spoke lowly, a voice that gave her unwanted chills, “I have been ordered to make sure you put the suit on, or I will put it on you myself.”

Breathing was difficult, but she managed to get out, “Making sure I put it on doesn’t mean you need to watch me.” She grunted as his elbow entered her spine. Whining in pain, she gave in and he let go, continuing to watch her as she removed her wrinkled clothes from the boat, and put on the suit she was given.

She was very aware of the man watching her, even though the mask covered his face. She felt sick but ultimately, she decided she didn’t want to die, or worse.

After she was done, he left the tent and, without question, she followed. Once they were in the yard, a staff was thrown at her, which she fumbled with before grabbing it with both hands.

“Clumsy.” Fyers said, “Make sure she becomes of use to us before she becomes useful to the daisies.” He walked away, leaving Wintergreen and Lily alone.

This was their routine for weeks until Wintergreen didn’t show up to her tent one morning. Yelling voices trailed into her tent instead.

Fyers opened the flap and entered, causing her to stand and face him. “We have a visitor.” He threw her a face mask to put on with her suit. It was a full mask and only her eyes could be seen.

Once she put it on, she followed Fyers to his main tent, where Oliver was being held against his will. She wanted to call out to him and tell him it would be alright, but her body was frozen, and she couldn’t move to try and save him.

She wanted to vomit at the sight of Billy torturing him, but she knew that if she moved from her statuesque pose, she would have it worse than Oliver did right now.

It was hours before commotion was heard outside and an Asian man entered the tent. He took on Billy and within moments, he was down for the count. Lily didn’t move from her spot, making sure that she had no part in Oliver’s time here, which she knew would get her into deep shit later.

When Billy got up, he rolled his neck before looking at Lily. Even through his mask, she could see his eyes drilling holes into her. “Outside.”

She followed his orders and went to the yard. Fyers walked up to the circle that surrounded Billy and Liliana. “What have we here?”

“Punishment.”

“Ah, she aided the escape of two wanted men.” He smirked, “Well, I have just the tool.”

He handed Billy a whip, who cracked it immediately. Lily knew she wasn’t going to get off easy, but this was far from what she expected. “It won’t happen again.” She squeaked, pinching herself for letting her nerves get the better of her again.

“You’re right about that.” Fyers said before Billy whipped her. Again. And again. And again.

She was left on the muddied ground in the pouring rain, bleeding out and no hope of survival.

But she didn’t need hope. She needed strength. She needed to preserve. She needed to get back up.

From her tent, Billy watched as she picked herself back up and stood for a couple seconds, catching her breath, before slowly walking towards him.

Lily wanted to turn around and lay back on the ground when she saw him in her tent, but his demeanor had completely changed. She had no idea what it was, but something about the way he guarded her from prying eyes of her open tent as she undressed was unexpected, and rather kind for what he did only hours ago.

“Stay.” He said, before turning around and leaving the tent. He closed the flaps tightly before returning a minute later with, what was probably his idea, of a first-aid kit. He sat her down and gently wiped her back down with alcohol before placing gauze on it and wrapping her torso.

“Thank you.” Lily whispered as he finished throwing bloodied towels away. He looked back at her when he finished, and really looked at her.

His hand glided from the base of her neck to the edge of her shoulder. “You’re stronger than they give you credit for.” He said before leaving her alone in her tent. A strange cold feeling swept through her after he was gone. 

\--

**Present Day**

“I heard you made some trouble for Oliver earlier.” Sara’s voice called out through the dark. Lily smirked to herself, knowing that Sara couldn’t see her.

“I like to make an entrance.” She stated.

“You think I didn’t notice you back at the club?”

“I know you did. That’s why I left.”

“Because of me?”

“Because I never thought I’d see your face again.”

“Is that why you won’t show your face now?"

“No.”

“Then why?”

“No one wants to see the face of a criminal. A monster.”

“I’m a monster.” Sara stated, shrugging.

“No, you’re sweet little Sara Lance who got dealt a horrible hand.” Lily scoffed.

“You don’t see yourself the same way?”

“You know what happened on that island. You know what I did.”

“We call that Stockholm Syndrome.” 

“Is that what you call you and Nyssa?”

“Not at all. I chose to stay with her, long after they saved me.”

“Now, you’re with Oliver.”

“How long have you been in Starling City again?” Sara chuckled, hiding her surprise at how much Lily knew after just a few hours of being back home.

“Nice try, but I have eyes. All it took was for me to see the way you and Oliver looked at each other to know that you are sharing a bed.”

“And how do you know about Nyssa?”

“Don’t tell me that you think I stopped looking out for you.”

“I always knew I felt your presence, I just never knew why.” Sara sighed. “Did you do the same for Ollie?”

“No. I lost track of him too often. He never stayed on the island for too long before leaving again.”

Sara scrunched her eyebrows at that information, not really understanding what she meant. She had only assumed that Oliver had been on that island the whole time.

“The look on your face tells me that you didn’t know that, so let’s keep that between us for now. Oliver might just kill me if I out all of his secrets before he does.”

“So why are you here now?”

“Let’s just say that I got kicked out of my home.” 

“Your home is here.”

Lily actually laughed, for the first time in years. “I don’t know why everyone keeps telling me that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Maybe I’ll find a home here again, one day. But not today.” She said before leaving her hiding spot and stepping into the light.

Sara did the same and took a step towards Liliana.

“We talked about you the first night I came back.” Sara said, talking about her and Oliver.

“And what did you say?”

“He blames himself for you dying. Well, being lost.”

“I chose to leave that boat.”

“He never did tell me why.”

“Privy information I guess.”

“So, you’re not going to tell me either?”

“Maybe one day, but not today.”

“There’s a lot of that ‘not today’ thing I’m hearing.”

Lily wanted to sigh and show annoyance to Sara for acting like 24-year-old Sara again. But she couldn’t. This was just too much, seeing Sara again.

“I see that look.” Sara smirked.

Lily decided it was okay, this once, to give in. She pulled Sara into a hug. “I’m so sorry I let you go.” Lily said into her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault. It never was.” Sara reminded her. Lily knew it wasn’t her fault. She had spent the last three years reminded herself over and over again that it wasn’t her fault that Sara was swept from the Amazo, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I’m sorry that I can’t stay.”

“This is your home.” Sara said again, pulling back from the hug just enough to look at her face.

“No, my home is where Sammy is. I’ve left her for so long and now she’s off in Central for… I don’t even know why.”

“Some guy, I think.” Sara said, raising a brow.

Lily chuckled and Sara joined, “I swear, the things we do for boys.”

“Just visit. Please.”

“I’ll miss you. I will give you every available way to reach me and you will call me if you need me.” Lily said and Sara nodded. “I won’t lose you again.”

“Never.”

Lily kissed Sara’s cheek before hugging her again. “I guess it’s time to go.” Sara nodded again into their hug. “I’ll see you around. Tell Oliver sorry for threatening him.” Lily laughed again, feeling good for once in the past few years.

“I will make sure he gets the message.” Sara smiled back. The waved one more time before Lily left her hideout and made her way to Central City. 

Where a guy was going to change her life forever.


	4. Survivor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The name of the island I got stranded on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for "purgatory". I was stranded there 5 years ago. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal. Survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the girl who was shipwrecked but the woman forged of Red and steel. My name is Liliana Parker-Bennett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Vague Rape, Death, Abuse

**5 Years Ago**

Weeks had gone by without another sign of Oliver or Yao Fei. Lily was beginning to grow tired of ‘training’ with Billy. However, she had started to come around to his presence and found herself lonely when he left.

Maybe she knew that it was wrong, but in full honesty, she hadn’t really cared.

She always fell for the ‘bad guy’ anyways, so Lily figured, why not fall for the bad guy? At least he was taking care of her.

Every cut and bruise she got from training, was tended to by him after they were done. They became less and less as time went on but she still tried to get at least one just so he would stay in her tent a little longer.

“Billy.” She whispered, hoping that he hadn’t heard her, while still wishing that he would answer.

“Yes?”

“Why haven’t I seen your face?” She asked. He was bandaging a cut she got on her collar before he stopped, trying to process what she had asked him.

Continuing on, he answered, “There isn’t a reason for you to.”

“You’ve seen literally every part of me.” She argued. “What is wrong with seeing your face in return?”

“No one should have to look at a coward.”

“You’re not a coward.”

“You should tell that to my friends and family if we ever get off this island.”

“Why do you think you’re a coward?”

“When Fyers captured me and my partner, I didn’t even hesitate to take his side.”

“That doesn’t make you a coward.”

“I didn’t want to be tortured.” He said, finally putting his hand down once he was done cleaning her up.

“That doesn’t make you a coward.” She said firmly.

“I’m weak.”

“You’re strong.” She denied his self-pity and sat forward, hoping to gain enough trust to remove his mask.

“I deserve pain and torture.” He grabbed her wrist, practically begging her to stop prying.

“You’re a survivor.” She said as his hold loosened, a sign that she could continue. Once she reached his mask, she took it off slowly and deliberately. “And you’re beautiful.”

He had no answer for her, so he did what anyone would do in that situation. He cupped her cheek and brought her face to his. It was a small spark before they were interrupted. Fyers opened the tent flap and immediately stopping in his tracks.

“Sorry to bother I suppose, but we have a plan and we need you both to gear up.” He said before leaving them.

She turned back to Billy from looking at the opening and his mouth was on hers again in an instant. It was rushed and feverish, not the slow pace he held before. It had taken her by surprise, and she was almost happy when he pulled away.

Lily had been kissed before, she had had sex before, she was no saint by any means, but the way her kissed her sent alarms and bells ringing through her head. _Maybe this wasn’t so right after all._

“When we return, I will gladly show you what a real man has to offer.” He whispered in her ear before leaving her with a quick kiss on the cheek.

The spot he touched was still warm with him, but unlike before, Lily was wishing she was cold.

Lily left her tent with her gear ready. The plan was to follow Fyers as he got himself captured and once he signaled for them, Billy was going to capture Yao Fei and Lily was going to get Fyers out of there, unharmed.

The unharmed part was emphasized so she knew that if he got hurt during that specific fight, she would be hurt for it later on.

Tracking them through the woods, Lily wanted to call for Oliver, but she knew she couldn’t protect them both, so she stayed silent.

“Call your people. Tell them to bring the plane.” Yao Fei said, holding a radio to Fyers.

“There's no need, Yao Fei. My people will be here shortly.” Yao Fei looked around, worried they were being followed. “Do you not think it convenient you captured me so easily?”

“Go!” Fei yelled, getting his bow ready. “Run!” He told Oliver, who ran for his life.

Lily swooped in after Wintergreen and grabbed Fyers before he could get hurt. “Successfully done, Natalia. I must say a reward is in order.” He smirked, “Though, I suspect our soldier already has one planned.” He chuckled darkly before walking off, beckoning her to follow.

She gulped, unprepared for what was about to happen.

Thankfully, Billy was preoccupied with trying to locate Oliver. But that didn’t last long before she heard over the radio, “I have contact. Two clicks South-west.”

That was the last she heard about him for a few days. Just enough time for Billy to finally get what he wanted from her.

He was rough, uncaring, aggressive, all the things you don’t want it to be with someone you’re having sex with for the first time. She hid her whimpers of pain by biting her lip, which she noticed had started to bleed when she tasted copper in her mouth and saw scarlet on the desk.

Billy was abusive, throwing her around and choking her. He had smacked her more than once when she didn’t moan his name or cry out in pleasure like he wanted. By the time he was done, she had bruises on her neck and arms, a swollen cheek and bloody lip.

She knew she had been led on and she knew he had manipulated her into wanting him, just enough that when she first gave her consent, she had no way out.

Fyers entered her tent only minutes after he left, “I knew he was going to be rough, but I didn’t think he’d leave you half dead.” He said, in a mockingly sweet way. Just how Billy used to talk to her. She growled at him, an animalistic sound coming from her throat.

“What do you want?” She choked out.

“Just making sure you’re up for the gladiator circle tomorrow. We have a special guest.” He smirked, leaving her tent again.

Lily wanted to ball herself up in the corner and cry, but too many tears had already been shed and she wasn’t planning on letting anymore fall.

So, she picked herself up, cleaned herself off, and got prepared for tomorrow.

She woke with a sore body and aches and pains anywhere and everywhere, but she knew that tonight would be just as rough because Fyers had intended for her to go against their second best in the circle, and it was going to be decided then whether she lived or died.

Lily trained in her tent all day, preparing herself. Hoping that if she moved her aching muscles, they would stop hurting so much, which only helped a little.

Once the time came, she stepped into the circle and she fought. With everything she had, she fought. He was good, but not as good as Billy, so everything she learned from him, she used against this guy. She was the survivor, not Billy. She was strong, not Billy. She wasn’t a coward. She wasn’t spineless. 

With her pent-up anger, she landed a final kick to his chest and pulled her knife out quickly, moving faster than someone might process if they weren’t paying attention, and she slit his throat.

He fell to the ground, dead as ever. Billy slow clapped while the circle cheered her on. She glared at him, seething hatred coming from her eyes. “Anyone else want to go?” Fyers asked.

A grunt came from behind her and she turned to see Yao Fei standing behind Oliver. He was on his knees, not prepared to battle anyone. After a one-sided fight with Yao Fei, he got choked to death. Lily closed her eyes as she watched his body go limp, hating that she was still frozen in place every time Oliver came around.

Yao Fei entered her tent a few hours later, “Oliver is alive.” He whispered.

She spun to look at him quickly, probably quicker than a normal being should. “He’s alive?”

Fei nodded, giving her a knowing look.

“You got shipwrecked here with him?” She nodded, “Why are you still with Fyers?”

“At first, I thought I would do better here, but then everything turned to shit and now I can’t leave without fearing that they’ll find me and kill me.” She said, putting her head down, ashamed to admit that she was actually afraid of dying here.

“Then survive.” He said, leaving her tent.

“Great advice.” She said sarcastically to herself.

Weeks went by before Oliver popped up again. He was back for Yao Fei, who Lily seemed sure he would come back for. Of course, Yao Fei was here for a reason and he wasn’t going to be going anywhere. So, when Oliver popped back into his tent, Fei had to knock him out.

Dragging Oliver to the middle of the circle, Lily already knew this wasn’t a fight. This was an execution.

“Simply to satisfy my own curiosity, why aren't you already dead?” Fyers asked, “I saw Yao Fei choke you to death.”

“I guess he's not as strong as he looks.” Oliver sassed back. The group laughed while Fyers did chuckle a little. 

“Still, you return for him. So, you're either a fool, or is it possible you now think yourself a hero?”

“I'm not a hero.”

“Of course not. It's not possible to be a hero when there's nobody worthy of saving.”

“Is this what you want? Did you want me to fight him again?” Oliver yelled, ready to put up a fight.

“Oh, no, Mr. Queen. That's where you're mistaken. This is not a match. It's an execution.”

“I'm sorry.” Yao Fei said, looking away from Oliver. The only sign of remorse he shared with anyone. He didn’t even try to step in. Lily had no idea why he stayed, but it had to be important if he wasn’t even going to defy Fyers to protect Oliver.

“It's Wintergreen, right?” Oliver asked, bringing Lily out of her daze. Of course, it was Billy who would be doing the execution. He was Fyers’ best fighter. Well, according to Lily, Fyers’ second best. “Bill Wintergreen?”

Billy punched him once and then they began to circle each other. “I know all about you. I know you work for the Australian government. And that you used to fight for your country. You used to stand for something!”

Billy sent Oliver to the ground with a multi-jab combo. It was hard to watch, but Lily was determined to not stay frozen this time. If there was ever a time to move your feet and help Oliver, it would be when he’s about to be executed by your abuser.

Lily leapt forward, doing a quick flip and landing a forearm to Billy’s head. He spun away from Oliver and rolled once on the ground before picking himself up quickly. The only weapon she had was her staff, while Billy pulled out his machete. He staff was a nice material though, she figured it would hold against him for a while.

At least long enough for Oliver to make it away from here.

“Who are you?” Oliver asked, looking at her. If the red hair wasn’t obvious enough, the quick look she gave him, accompanied with a wink, was.

He sighed in relief, thankful that one of his longest friends was alive, even if she was with the enemy for a time.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” She asked, looking to Billy. They fought for what felt like hours before explosions went off in the surrounding area. Oliver looked ecstatic, while Billy stopped fighting her and turned towards the fire. _This must be the partner Billy mentioned a while back._

Billy and his old partner, who Oliver informed her was named Slade, went at each other like she and her brother used to do in the backyard with sticks larger than their bodied. Of course, her and her brother hadn’t been trying to kill each other.

Lily was beyond glad when Wintergreen got a blade through the eye. Sighing in relief, she stood up with Oliver, but was quick to pick up the nearest gun when her savior got shot. Fyers hid behind a truck as she and Oliver shot at him. 

Grabbing Slade, they made a quick get-away. Walking down whatever path they were taking; Oliver saw a soldier trying to sneak up on them and instantly took him out and stole his gun. Of course, Oliver didn’t want to kill anyone, so he opted for knocking him out.

Lily pat him on the shoulder, “Didn’t know you had it in you.” She smirked. A plane was heard and the three of them looked towards the noise.

“There goes our ride.” Slade said.

Lily went wide-eyed, “You were gonna hijack that plane?” Both men looked at her, “I’m just saying, that was a good idea.” She nodded approvingly before gesturing for them to get a move on.

She was finally free of Billy.

\--

**Present Day**

Being a vigilante was never the plan, but when the particle accelerator decided to go off, it left the city in a panic. 

One small apartment building close to S.T.A.R. Labs had gone up in flames and Lily decided it was best to put her mask on and help. 

Screams filled the streets and flames filled her lungs. The rain poured over her face and she thought about how hard it hit her but did nothing to tame the flames in front of her.

The first thing she wanted to do was go and see her sister, not get thrown into the problems of the city that she didn’t care for. It had kept her sister safe when she was younger and unable to, but it was never going to be a place Lily would call home.

Running back into the building, she heard a loud boom before looking out the window. The accelerator had exploded and whatever it was creating, had created a cloud that was headed in every direction. Including hers. 

A small boy, probably five, had grabbed onto her leg. He was scared and wanted his mother. She saw this and instantly went to pick him up. The beam above them had collapsed and instead of picking him up, she pushed him to the ground and covered him with her own body.

The beam, engulfed in fire, had landed on her but she did everything she could to hold it up with her body to protect the boy.

The wave from the accelerator had pushed through the building and created enough force to push it off her body and away from the duo. She took this opportunity to grab him and escape the building. His mother thanked her, and she nodded her head before dashing off.

She had finally gotten to her apartment, curtesy of Anatoly, and grabbed her things to take a quick cold bath. She added some ice cubes for her sore muscles. Lily relaxed and tilted her head back, enjoying the diminished cold. 

Feeling warmer than she did only seconds ago, she looked back to her bath. All of the ice was gone, and the water was steaming, like it was about to boil. Lily began to panic and then after a few seconds, she noticed that her body was reacting to her panic and causing her hands to begin fluctuating in and out of physical form.

It looked like she was beginning to turn to dust, but then her body returned to its original state.

Executing breathing exercises that she learned from Billy back on the island, she calmed herself down long enough to get out of the tub and get dressed without turning to dust again.

Control was the first thing she learned to its fullest extent back on the island. That was going to come in handy over the next few weeks.


	5. A Way Off The Island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of Rape and Suicide

**5 Years Ago**

Oliver dug the bullet out of Slade’s arm with a dull knife. Lily just looked on as she saw the boy who left with her on the Gambit was changed into this whole new person.

He was already so different from the boy she knew.

After he pulled out the bullet, Lily took over to clean him up while Oliver went to grab water. Clean water was hard to find on the island, so it took some filtering before it was good enough to drink.

She patched him as best she could with the little supplies the two had.

“So, how do you know Oliver?” He asked her.

Lily looked at him for a moment before deciding he was good enough to trust, a least a little. “We grew up together, back in the states. It was his family’s boat that sunk, and we ended up here.”

“Ahh, so you two…?” He insinuated.

She put a little more pressure on his arm than necessary, “No.”

“No need to get aggressive Love.” He snickers.

“Sorry.” Lily whispered her reply.

“No worries. Something tells me it has something to do with the other Australian anyways.”

Liliana stopped wiping his wound, hesitating before going to wrap it. “He wasn’t the best.” She admitted.

“What happened with Fyers?”

“Fyers was in charge. If I didn’t do what he asked, I’d be ‘punished’.”

She embellished the word’ ‘punished’ to make a joke, but Slade just stared at her, watching her. Lily knew he saw right through her by the way he looked at her.

“What happened with Billy?”

Sighing, she knew that he wasn’t going to give up, but why does she have to tell everything to a man she just met, a man she didn’t trust fully? “What do you think happened?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why I asked you.” He said. When she didn’t answer, he sighed back, “You don’t have to tell me but if you don’t tell someone, it’s going to eat you up.”

“Don’t tell Oliver.” She said in a small voice.

“I don’t know anything to tell him.” He said, giving her a small side smile.

She smiled back, patting his forearm, “All done.”

“Thank you.”

Lily nodded before they parted ways on the crash site, waiting for Oliver to return with water.

Slade began groaning and Lily almost stood up, but Oliver returned, “Hey. Hey. Drink.”

He did as he was told but instantly spat it out, “That tastes like dirt.”

“You got to stay hydrated, ok?”

“Hydration is not my problem. My problem is getting a bullet dug out of my arm with a dull blade.”

“Let me take a look.” Slade groaned and Lily wanted to smack his hand away because she just wrapped his arm a little while ago. “It's infected.”

“Go figure.” Lily muttered.

“Yeah, uh... I got to stop that before it spreads.”

“When you swing past the drugstore for those antibiotics, you want to get me a copy of "Maxim", or maybe a "Sports Illustrated"?” Slade joked.

“Yao Fei had these super herbs back in the cave that'd heal anything. I'm going to go get them.”

“You're not going to last an hour out there.” Slade called to him.

“Well, I guess you better hope I get back in 45 minutes, then.” He looked to Lily, “Stay with him, make sure he drinks some water.” She nodded then he was gone.

Lily wished she had something to do, considering Oliver was gone again and Slade was out of commission. Of course, she could have talked to Slade while he was pitying himself. It was better than nothing, “How did you get here?” She asked.

He glanced at her, debating if it was rude if he didn’t sit up to speak to her. He decided he should, but the second he made an effort to move, Lily was up to push him back down.

“Sorry. I guess my stubbornness doesn’t out-weigh my lack of strength.” He joked. Lily smiled a fraction, which was his goal to begin with. “We worked for ASIS and we were tasked to save Yao Fei. He was put here to conceal a massacre that happened nine years ago. After we got here, we got shot out of the sky and ended up in Fyers camp.”

Lily nodded, resonating with his story of being stranded and held hostage by Fyers.

Slade acknowledged her nod, understanding that she wanted him to keep going. “When Fyers held us captive, he asked us to join him. I refused but Billy accepted in a heartbeat.”

“He was a coward.” Lily interrupted, seething at the thought of Billy. “He was weak.”

“You’ve got that right.” He agreed.

Realizing that she was being rude, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s alright. It’s nice to have someone to talk to that understands how he was in his last year on this Earth.”

“How did you escape Fyers?”

“Yao Fei.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Yao Fei I met.”

“Fyers has to have something on him. Not only did Fei save me, he kept Oliver alive on this first few days on this island.”

“I guess I didn’t meet the same guy.” Lily muttered, sad at the memory she had of Fei not being as good as Oliver’s.

Saved by the Queen, Oliver steps back into the crash site and he begins getting his herbs ready for Slade.

“Ahh. It tastes like an ashtray.” Slade coughed, “But it does the job. I owe you one.”

“You didn't get into any trouble out there, did you?” Lily asked. Oliver was in a daze and Slade looked at him with wide eyes. 

“Hmm?” Oliver asked, looking back at the two. “No. Not a bit.”

It only took the herbs a few days to work and Slade was back in fighting shape. He made an obstacle course out of the site for Lily to do while he did pull-ups. He was trying to convince Oliver to work on his fighting skills also.

“Well, I'm more of a runner.” He argued. “Why the sudden desire to work out?”

“What else is there to do?”

“Well, we can try to think of another way off the island.”

“There is no other way. If there was, I would have found it.”

“We can't just sit here and wait for Fyers to come and kill us.”

“I did have one idea.” Slade walked up to Oliver and was being rather sarcastic, which made Lily stop what she was doing and walk towards them. “If you go into the forest and gather as much bamboo as you can find... Yeah? We could build ourselves a boat, like they did on "Gilligan's Island."”

Oliver scoffed before walking away, a radio catching his eye. He quickly walks over to it and tries to turn it on, “That's broken. It got busted during the crash.” Slade said.

“Did you try to get it to work?”

“I'm better at pulling things apart.”

“My father was a pilot and he used to do his own maintenance.”

“So, you're hoping aircraft maintenance is genetic?”

“No, I used to help him and I liked it. Then I got pretty good at it. So maybe I can make the radio work.”

“You should be training for the inevitable fight that's looming.”

“I think I have a better chance of making the radio work.” Oliver said honestly. Seeing that they worked out whatever that spat was, she went back to training. Lily spent the next few days working out and training with Slade.

She offered to work out with Oliver but he was adamant to get the radio to work. After a day or two, she stopped asking because he didn’t seem to want to get involved with it, or with her for that matter.

“I hope you like barbecue.” Slade called into the site as he brought food back in. Before the island, she had been strictly vegetarian, but that was quickly thrown out the door when Fyers forced her to eat whatever was put in front of her, which was mostly meat.

She ended up throwing it up the first time, but after that, she had to hold it down or she would starve.

“Well, don't fall over yourself thanking me for spending six hours up a tree so you can eat.” He said, gruffly.

“What? Great. I'll eat later.” Oliver said, brushing him off.

“You've been on that for days. Give it a rest.”

“It's because I can do this.”

“Sure, kid. When pigs fly.” Slade turned to leave but stopped when he heard static from the radio. Both Slade and Lily ran up to it, “You're kidding me.”

“Can you clean this up?” Lily asked, hoping he had a good answer for her.

“I don't know. I don't know how I got this far!” He chuckled while Lily laughed and patted his shoulder.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is wedgetail 325. Pilot and passenger down.” Slade said on the radio. A woman spoke but Slade tried again, “I repeat--pilot and passenger down on the island of Lian Yu. Request immediate rescue.”

“Cleared to land, runway 2-7 right. Big jet 365.” They said on the radio.

“Damn! They can't hear us, and we can't call out. We're still trapped.” Slade said, going back to the food he caught earlier.

“It’ll work itself out.” Lily said, trying to stay upbeat for Oliver. He could see she was trying to remain calm for him, and he was thankful for it.

“I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I was surprised to see you in Fyers camp.” She admitted.

“Which time? When they tortured me to find Yao Fei? Or when they tried to have Yao Fei kill me?” He asked bitterly.

“Every time.” She said, looking away from him.

“Why didn’t you help me?”

“I’m weak.” She said, getting up to walk away from him. He didn’t do anything to stop her.

A few hours later, Lily decided to take a break from training to see the two huddled at the radio.

“If they can't hear us, then what's the point?” Oliver yelled at Slade.

“Wait! You still might have done us some good.” He fiddled with the dial, Static was going in and out before a man was heard, clear as day. It was Fyers.

“0500 hours from my mark. Final deployment is five by five.” He said over the radio.

“That's Fyers!” Oliver exclaimed.

“I'm tuned into the soldier's frequency.” Slade clarified.

“Scylla is in route. ETA 0600 hours. At the southwest bay. I'll call you when Scylla is in my possession. Fyers out.”

“Who was Fyers talking to?” Lily asked, alerting the two to her presence.

“I don't know. Sounds like someone off this island, maybe his benefactor.” Oliver answered, trying to be nicer than he was before.

“More importantly, who or what is Scylla?” Slade asked.

“The Scylla and Charibdis. It's "The Odyssey," from one of the four nightmare chapters. Scylla was a monster.” Who knew Oliver was so smart, especially for being an ivy league dropout.

“I want to meet this monster.” Slade said, grabbing a weapon and heading toward the exit, “Am I going alone?” Oliver looked to Lily, both of them smiling before following him out.

Making it to the southwest bay, all three of them hid behind a rock, watching the soldiers below. Slade was looking through binoculars while Lily and Oliver waited for him to find what he was looking for. 

“You were right. Scylla is a monster. A Russian-made S300 anti-aircraft missile launcher.” Slade said, giving the binoculars to Oliver. “It can simultaneously track up to a hundred targets while engaging with at least a dozen.” 

“I mean, from here, they could shoot down a commercial airliner, or start a war.” Lily stated, getting the binoculars from Oliver to take a look.

“One of those missiles has an effective range of up to 2,400 kilometers. We're not going anywhere until we figure out what Fyers is planning.” Slade said, getting ready to move.

“Wild guess? He's planning on blowing something up.” Oliver stated, sarcastically.

“Well, one of those could do the job.” Lily said.

“But this? This is about starting a war.” 

“With who?” Oliver asked.

“What does it matter? We have to stop Fyers before he kills thousands of innocent people.”

“There are tons of soldiers down there. Even if we get through all of them, we can't just steal a whole missile launcher.” Lily argued, growing more and more impatient at the thought of them not being able to do anything while Fyers sets up a ‘weapon of mass destruction’,

“Well, who said anything about stealing it?” Slade shrugged.

“So what's the plan? Ambush?” Oliver asked.

“It's impossible. We can't take out all six without one radioing for back up. It'd be good if we could get all the soldiers in one place.” Slade said, thinking about what they need to do to get close enough to the soldiers.

“You're right.” Lily said, giving Oliver a knowing look, practically sharing the same mind.

Lily hid in the bushes, stalking Oliver as he ‘dragged’ Slade along the path. She was going to be their back-up when they took the first punch. No one was going to expect her to come from the back.

“Hey! I found an intruder while I was circling the perimeter.” Oliver yelled, getting their attention.

“It's Wilson. You killed a few of my friends, you son of a bitch.” One of the soldiers said, coming up to them to get a punch in at Slade. 

“And I'm going to kill a few more.” Slade smirks, attacking them. The plan went off without a hitch and Lily jumped out from the bushes and got a few from behind while Slade and Oliver finished them off up front.

Slade hands Ollie and Lily a bunch of explosives, “Place these around the launcher. Do it quickly. Their backup will be arriving any second.”

The radio sounds and a man is talking, “We're 60 seconds out from the launcher.”

The three of them look at each other before Wilson speaks up again, “Set your final charges and we'll blow it.”

“I think I have a better idea.” Ollie says, making Liliana look towards him. He was inside of the launcher, pulling things out.

“What are you doing?” Slade asked.

“I'm taking the circuit board. Computers won't work without them, and neither will this.” The three of them chuckle at his idea while Slade mutters “Leverage.”

They rush off to hide before the other soldiers arrive. Waiting until night fall, they hid behind the bushes and rocks for cover. Giving away their position too early would not play in their favor and Ollie’s plan was a lot better than just blowing up the launcher.

“Your plan, your call.” Slade said, handing the radio to Oliver.

“Fyers.” He says into the walkie.

“Mr. Queen. I thought I might be hearing from you.” Fyers answers. They were almost close enough that she swore she could hear him over the radio and faintly in person.

“We have the circuit board.” Ollie answered.

“You're making a grave mistake. My men are scouring the island for you as we speak. And when they find you, they will kill you. Very slowly, I'm afraid.” Threats weren’t going to get him anywhere when they were so close to him, close enough for Lily to want to rush him and shove a branch through his jugular.

Liliana pulled back, closing her eyes and taking a breath. It had seemed that her anger had been getting the best of her lately and her only outlet was exercising, running, and training.

Any and all thoughts of Fyers and Billy made her blood boil and she knew she needed to keep a clear head if she didn’t want to ruin their plan.

“If your men kill us, then you'll never find the circuit board. And after that, we both know that all you'll be left with is a really ugly piece of modern art.” Oliver countered.

“What do you propose?”

“A trade.”

“I see. And what do you want in exchange?”

“I want a way off the island.”

\--

**Present Day**

Finding her sister was her main priority the next day. Knowing that Joe West had watched over her in her teenage years, the police department was the first place she went.

Lily found him sitting at his desk, writing in a manila folder. Glancing at it, she saw ‘Mardon’ written on the tab. Ignoring the name, she cleared her throat before speaking, “Hello, Joe West?”

He looked up, eyes instantly going wide at the girl in front of him. “Parker?”

“Is it that obvious?” She asked, laughing a little.

“I’ve seen pictures of you, plus you look like your sister.” He said, holding his hand out for her to shake.

“Which is why I’m here, actually. I’m looking for her.” His face fell just as his hand did. She knew something was wrong then. “What happened?”

“That obvious, huh?” She nodded. “The accelerator went off last night and she was caught in the explosion, sort of.” He coughed, trying to explain the situation the best he could. “I think she did something, more than likely anyways… She’s been having some problems lately- “

“Tell me. I really don’t like the suspense.” Lily said, instantly back into her ‘Russian’ mode. Patience was earned with her.

“We believe she tried to commit suicide last night, and the explosion saved her.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

He handed her a letter. It was addressed to her and it was in Sammy’s handwriting.

“Have you opened it?”

“No. But she left letters for everyone she cared about. Myself included.”

“You said it saved her. Where is she now?” Lily asked, stuffing the letter into her inner coat pocket.

“She’s at S.T.A.R. Labs with my other son, adopted. Barry Allen.”

“Thank you, Detective.” She said, giving him a small smile before heading out of the precinct towards her sister.

It only took her twenty minutes to drive there, and her anxiousness was showing. Every once in a while, her hands would begin to change and she would instantly begin to breathe and calm down, returning to her physical form.

Barging through the doors, she took the elevator to the floor that she believed would hold her sister. Lily tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the elevator to stop on the floor she selected. She resisted the urge to smash the button a few more times, knowing that it wouldn’t affect the speed at all.

The doors opened and Lily practically jogged down the hall. She heard voices and went to them instantly. Even in heeled ankle boots, she was silent. Which was scary to the three sitting in the lab, speaking amongst themselves.

Her voice echoed through the room, causing the trio to snap their heads in her direction, “Tell me where she is, and you get to keep your body parts.”

The boy held is hands up quickly, “Please don’t take any body parts.”

“You must be Liliana.” The older man in a wheelchair said.

“Only to those who don’t know me. I’d ask who you are, but I care little about that. Where is she?”

“She’s in a coma.” The girl spoke up, giving her a sympathetic smile.

Lily hated sympathy. She squinted angrily at the girl, who dropped her smile and looked away quickly, satisfying Lily.

“Where?”

“Follow me.” The boy said, gesturing for her to follow.

She followed him to a room filled with medical supplies, monitors, and two sleeping adults. She instantly knew Sammy, even if her hair had turned red, which was unusual since the only red head in the family had been Lily herself.

“Allen?” She asked, pointing her head towards the other boy. The one that showed her to the room nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Cisco.” He tried to say confidently.

It made her smirk some. “Well, Cisco, you can call me Lily.” He nodded. “When will she wake up?”

“That’s up to her.” He said. “There’s nothing wrong with her, she just isn’t opening her eyes.”

“I’ll give you my number, and if anything changes, I want you to contact me immediately.” 

“Of course.” Cisco answered. “Just curious, why are you so scary?”

“I’m Russian.” She said, smirking at his expression before leaving the area. She got the strangest feeling that wheelchair man was watching her as she left, and not in the good way.


End file.
